Recent NHL Player News

The National Hockey League has officially suspended the season effective immediately because of the coronavirus.

What It Means:

From the league office: "In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019‑20 season beginning with tonight’s games." As of now, it's not clear when the league will resume play.

The St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Wednesday in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

What It Means:

Jordan Binnington shut down 32 of 33 shots as the Blues won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It's a stunning accomplishment for a team that had the worst record in the NHL on January 2. Ryan O'Reilly earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Binnington, 25, finished the postseason with a 16-10 record while posting a 2.46 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage.

The Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Drew Doughty have agreed to an eight-year contract extension.

What It Means:

The deal will reportedly pay Doughty around $11 million per season through the life of the deal, which will go until his age-37 season. He will play out the final year of his current deal before this one kicks in. Even more impressive is that Doughty reportedly negotiated his own deal, saving himself between $1.75 and 2 million in agent fees.

In 2017-18, Doughty played 2,201 minutes in 82 games while accounting for 10 goals, 50 assists and 205 shots.

The San Jose Sharks have signed winger Evander Kane to a seven-year extension worth $49 million.

What It Means:

Kane will make $7 million a year under the deal, which includes a very limited no-trade clause. If the team wants to deal the 26-year-old they'll only have three teams to choose from. The no-trade goes throughout the contract, so this is a high-risk, high-reward move. The team will hope that Kane hits his stride in his prime, after performing well since landing in San Jose at the trade deadline.

Across his time with the Sharks and Buffalo Sabres, Kane produced 29 goals, 25 assists and 54 points with 307 shots in 1,527 minutes.

Oshie opened the scoring with a powerplay goal late in the second period and then the 31-year-old added an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining in regulation. He finished the night with a plus-1 rating, 5 shots on goal, and 2 hits in 20:44 of ice time while helping the Capitals get within one win of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Oshie reeled in 34.1 FanDuel points in Game 6. He's now up to 7 goals and 15 points in 18 postseason contests.

Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots in a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets to clinch the Western Conference Championship on Sunday.

What It Means:

Fleury has been the expansion Knights rock in net as he allowed just 6 goals in the last 4 games to help the Knights close out the Jets (4 games to 1) and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. They will face either the Washington Capitals or the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Cup.

Fleury has been sharp this postseason, posting a 1.68 goals against average and a .947 save percentage in 15 games.

Vegas is up 2-1 after three games of the Western Conference Finals. As the winning goalie, Fleury took over sole possession of ninth place on the all-time playoff wins list. At 74 wins, Chris Osgood is next up on the list, so there's a chance that Fleury gets up to eighth before the end of the 2018 playoffs.

In his 10th win of this postseason alone, Fleury saved 33-of-35 shots, bringing his save percentage to .924 through three games against the Jets.

Hall evened things up at 1-1 close to the mid-way point in the second period and then helped out with the next two goals to give the Devils a lead they never relinquished. The 26-year-old now has 2 goals and 3 assists as the two teams prepare for Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Hall scored 39.7 FanDuel points in Game 3 and he's averaging 26.5 FanDuel points per game in the series.

According to The Athletic's Joe Smith, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper confirmed that center Steven Stamkos would play in Thursday's Game 1 against the New Jersey Devils.

What It Means:

Stamkos missed the final three games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. However, he said that he was good to go after Wednesday's practice, so he should be a full-go as the Lightning host the Devils in Round 1.

Our models project Stamkos for 15.3 FanDuel points at a cost of $8,500 on Thursday's slate.

In attaining his third career playoff hat trick, Crosby tied the franchise record, held my Mario Lemieux. He put up one goal in the second period before tallying two in the matter of nearly three minutes in the third. Crosby had four shots on goal and a hit in his 16-plus minutes on the ice.

For his career, Crosby now has 60 goals and 167 points in 149 postseason games. We give the Penguins a 8.56% chance of three-peating as Stanley Cup champions.

Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron will miss at least two weeks with a fractured right foot.

What It Means:

Bergeron's set to be re-evaluated following the two week period. He was wearing a walking boot on Saturday and played on Sunday, but a secondary scans showed the fracture and the reasoning for his future absence. The Bruins will look to rely heavily on new acquisitions like Rick Nash and Brian Gionta.

Through 55 games, Bergeron has 27 goals and 27 assists in 1,068 minutes of ice time.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired center Derick Brassard from the Ottawa Senators.

What It Means:

In exchange for Brassard, Ottawa will receive Ian Cole, Filip Gustavsson and a 2018 first-round pick. It's quite a haul for Brassard, but this will give the Penguins that much more firepower for the stretch run before and through the playoffs.

Through 57 games, the 30-year-old has 17 goals, 19 assists while averaging 18.3 minutes of ice time per game.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left foot.

What It Means:

It seemed like Weber was working his way back, but he's recently progressed to a point where it was unclear if he would return in 2018. Rehab didn't end up being enough and surgery was the final solution. At 32, Weber is due $15 million over the next five seasons.

According to The Athletic's Kevin Kurz, San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton will out indefinitely after suffering an injury to his MCL on Tuesday night.

What It Means:

General manager Doug Wilson said that the team is awaiting MRI results but that they expected the 38-year-old to be out "several weeks." Thornton had undergone surgery this summer for a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee.

Through 47 games, Thornton has produced 13 goals and 36 points while averaging 10.7 FanDuel points in 18.3 minutes of ice time.

New York Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid will start against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

What It Means:

Kinkaid will step in between the crease for the Devils in place of Cory Schneider, who was ruled out due to illness. The 28-year-old goalie is 5-3-2 this season with a 3.31 goals-against average and .897 save percentage.

numberFire's models project Kinkaid to score 13.9 FanDuel points at a cost of $7,300 on Tuesday.

New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider will miss Tuesday's game against the New York Islanders because of an illness.

What It Means:

Keith Kinkaid will draw the start in place of Schneider, who was originally slated to be in net for the Devils. Consider him questionable for Thursday's matchup with the Washington Capitals. Schneider is 17-9-6 on the year, with a 2.74 goals-against average and 91.5 save percentage (SV%).

numberFire's models project Schneider to go 13-10-3 over the remainder of the year while recording a 91.6 SV%.

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler will make his season debut on Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

What It Means:

After undergoing offseason hip surgery, Kesler had yet to play in 2017. At 33, he'll enter his 14th NHL season and fourth with the Ducks. It may take some time for him to get going but he should return to form in the coming weeks.

Last season, Kesler turned in 186 shots, 22 goals, 36 assists and 8 power play goals over 1,747 minutes and 82 games.

Murray went down on Monday. His speculated timetable is two-to-four weeks but that hasn't been confirmed. As for the team's starting goalkeeper, that will be Tristan Jarry with recent call-up Casey DeSmith serving as his backup.

Averaging 16.9 FanDuel points per game, Murray is projected for a 21-14-5 record with 3 shutouts and 102 goals against the rest of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will not play Thurday against the New Jersey Devils, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

What It Means:

For Matthews, this will be his fourth straight game he's missed with an upper body ailment. The specifics aren't known but he appears close to making a return to the ice. His next chance to play will be on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Through 16 games, Matthews has 10 goals on 53 shots. He's also averaging 18.9 FanDuel points per game to this point in his second NHL season.